eighth blackbird nabs Grammy nomination

Former northern Ohio residents eight blackbird has nabbed two Grammy nominations for the band's latest album.

The group's album "Strange Imaginary Animals" has received a Grammy nomination for "Best Chamber Music Performance." And in related news, composer Jennifer Higdon's "Zaka," a track from the album, has been nominated for "Best Contemporary Classical Composition."

eighth blackbird formed while its members were attending Oberlin College, although I believe they are based in Illinois now. Oberlin provides good support for contemporary music, so it's nice for the school (and the Cleveland area) to see the nomination.

Additional Cleveland note: Higdon's work has been performed by the Cleveland Orchestra, and one of her better-known works, "blue cathedral," was released on Cleveland's Telarc record label (as part of an Atlanta Symphony Orchestra album, "The Rainbow Body.")

As of Thursday night, neither eighth blackbird nor Higdon had bothered to mention the nomination on their Web sites. Hey guys, try to control your excitement. (Addendum: There's now a blog entry on the eighth blackbird site about it. Their producer also was nominated, so there are actually three Grammy nominations in connection with their album. See also Lisa Kaplan's comment that she posted to this blog entry.)

Full list of classical Grammy nominees here.

Addendum: The Oberlin news keeps on coming. Phillip Bush spots a famous musician on the Oberlin faculty in a Geico commercial.